Yu Yu Hakusho

[talonmalon333]

My guess on your favorite was correct. I was ready to congratulate myself for doing so, but then saw that I never actually wrote it in any posts in this thread... 

Anyway, excellent picks! I especially like your #1 choice. Not sure what I'd do in a top 10, but Sensui's Fall would most likely be in there. I was gonna say stuff, but I think the two of you covered everything, and better than I would've. I guess I could add, though, that I really loved the atmosphere of the scene where Koenma tells the story of when Sensui's past. And it's greatly helped by the little things, such as the minimalistic animation of the scene showing humans torturing the demons. That, couple'd with the new grim music that was introduced in Chapter Black, just helped to set the mood so perfectly.

Also, I'm glad you mentioned that the anime version of events can be considered canon, E-K. I see the anime version of YYH to be entirely canon myself. I mean, what is there to stop me? It's a completely fleshed out version of the manga with changes entirely for the better, and it seems to be the more recognized version of the series anyway.

I also agree about not seeing the series as being completely perfect like I used to (for example, I used to try to defend the Demon Tournament and argued how it's better than given credit for, but came to accept that it deserves to go die in a river). But despite that, I think it'll always be my favorite shonen.

Kurama's Anger, Gourmet's Guest is also a great choice. And I agree with you guys, with what you said about the fates of the Toguro brothers. I'd like to add that I have always considered Elder Toguro to be more evil than his younger brother. I believed it ever since he fought those three demons in the Dark Tournament, where he said his brother would spare one of them, but he himself would not. But I think that the conclusion of their arcs made me believe that even more.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Hmm, once I think about it, Kurama didn't really need to develop through the events of the story to become a better/happier person. What I mean is, if Koenma didn't make him work under him, he would have just gone on and be happy with his mother. The only thing that could have gotten in the way of that, character wise, is if he still wanted to be Yoko. I kind of think that was just added into the DT arc to make him more interesting. He seemed to be done with trying to transform back by the time Yusuke met him.

Kurama was much more selfish at that point until Yusuke saved his life by sacrificing his life to save him from the mirror. It was after he paid him back that he started understanding more about what being a human was.

If Koenma didn't send Yusuke after Kurama, Kurama would have died, too.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, you have to keep in mind that Kurama was going to give up his life to save the life of his dying mother until Yusuke intervened. So saying that his involvement with Yusuke was pointless to his character is pretty incorrect considering that he would've been dead had he not met up with Yusuke, whether he had reached the pinnacle of his development as a character or not.

I also feel that he still did grow as a character even after joining the team. It was established since his first encounter with Yusuke that he had a history as a criminal in the demon world. In the Dark Tournament arc he had to confront his history as Yoko and call on that former power of his to help him fight against more powerful enemies. In Chapter Black he had to allow himself to become cold-hearted once again in order to do what needed to be done. In Three Kings he realized that being a demon meant that he was putting the life of his mother and those he loved in jeopardy, since he had many old enemies who would jump at the opportunity to exploit any weak point that he had, and this was the case with Yomi who essentially held his mother, step-father, and step-brother "hostage" by having them watched by his minions who could kill them at any time at Yomi's command if Kurama did not cooperate. This forced him to finally reconcile with an old ally of his whom he betrayed, and also gave him a better perspective of his responsibility to protect his mother.

Its true that Kurama was the most well-matured and developed of the characters form the get-go, but he still had his developments in characterization as the series progressed.

[gunswordfist]

I never said Koenma not meeting Yusuke wouldn't have changed anything. Yes, I know he would have died, I was referring more to the time Koenma made him spend on the team but yeah, Yusuke showing what a great humans can have did effect him.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I never said Koenma not meeting Yusuke wouldn't have changed anything. Yes, I know he would have died, I was referring more to the time Koenma made him spend on the team but yeah, Yusuke showing what a great humans can have did effect him.

Koenma? I thought we were talking about Kurama.

[gunswordfist]

I never said Koenma not meeting Yusuke wouldn't have changed anything. Yes, I know he would have died, I was referring more to the time Koenma made him spend on the team but yeah, Yusuke showing what a great humans can have did effect him.

Koenma? I thought we were talking about Kurama.

I meant Kurama the first time

[talonmalon333]

Was it ever explained how Toguro knew Genkai was Yusuke's teacher? When Toguro fought Yusuke and Kuwabara in Tarukane's house, he didn't really know who they were but just saw potential in Yusuke. Followed by that, he invites Yusuke to the Dark Tournament and invites Genkai as well. How did he know she was Yusuke's teacher?

[Spark Of Spirit]

He probably recognized by the way he fought, but I doubt he would have mentioned it during their fight because it wasn't pertinent and Tarukane couldn't know he was scamming him.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I re-watched a handful of random episodes of this series recently, in no particular order. My goal was to see if it still holds up for me....and quite frankly, it still does hold up for me just as much as it ever did. I don't know what it is, but while I can admit that on an objective level its not "the best series ever!" like I used to think it was, there's something about it that I just love to death, and it really never gets old for me.

I know that there are a ton of "better" anime out there, like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, as well as better animated series in general, like Gargoyles, Batman: TAS, The Spectacular Spider-Man etc., yet this is still my personal favorite anime. Is that wrong of me? Clearly I let my own bias get in the way of my judgement, but the fact is that this series never fails to entertain me (minus a few crappy episodes, and I really only mean a few), and while it doesn't have the level of complexity of some of those other series I listed as well as many others, I still think that it is by far the most entertaining and well-paced shonen series that I have ever seen, and at the end of the day, an anime that pretty much takes everything that's actually good about shonen series and rolls it into one is my personal favorite animated series, even to this day.

I don't know, maybe its strange that I still consider this series to be my favorite animated series ever, and I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't at least a little bit of nostalgia factored in there, but I honestly do feel that this series holds up remarkably well, and has a level of depth and complexity to it that is far beyond what a standard shonen would offer, and that its overall execution results in something far more entertaining and interesting than any other shonen that I've seen, even among all of the classics.

Oh, and BTW, I watched the episodes subbed, so I'm not just a fan of the series for the dub (which I still love, as flawed as it is).

[Foggle]

I know that there are a ton of "better" anime out there, like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, as well as better animated series in general, like Gargoyles, Batman: TAS, The Spectacular Spider-Man etc., yet this is still my personal favorite anime. Is that wrong of me?

Of course not! "Objective taste" is bullshit anyway (although some things are definitely good and others are definitely bad), so if you think YYH is the best anime ever, there's no problem with that.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The dub gives some good color to the dialogue so I don't really mind it.

I can see why some could rank it so high (obviously) since it does a lot of things good which is why it resonated so well in the first place. But the added character dynamics that help influence the plot are quite different than most anime from the time which were more driven by plot than character interaction that influences the plot.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Of course not! "Objective taste" is bullshit anyway (although some things are definitely good and others are definitely bad), so if you think YYH is the best anime ever, there's no problem with that.

Yeah, I agree that shows being "objectively" better than others is a very narrow-minded way of thinking, but the Internet has a way of having people get touchy over that stuff, so I just always feel the need to stress that I don't give a shit about what peole find to be "objective," since I basically like what I like.

That said, it really is my favorite show. I really do feel that, at least among shonen writers, Togashi is the king when it comes to characterizations, ESPECIALLY when it comes to his villains (and I can't stress that point enough).

As Desensitized mentioned, his characters move the plot along, rather than it being the other way around.

[Foggle]

That said, it really is my favorite show. I really do feel that, at least among shonen writers, Togashi is the king when it comes to characterizations

Yeah, this is basically exactly how I feel about Excel Saga, as far as manga goes. And I finally went more into detail why on our blog.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, this is basically exactly how I feel about Excel Saga, as far as manga goes. And I finally went more into detail why on our blog.

Oh yeah, I read the whole article (great read, BTW ), but didn't get the chance to comment on it, earlier. I'll post up my thoughts on it, later, though. I really do want to get into Excel Saga. As soon as I finish my college semester, I'll probably subscribe to that Viz online manga service just long enough to read through all of the Excel Saga volumes.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yes, I also enjoyed the article.

I do enjoy stories that are character driven, but I think YYH is one of the best at how every character plays a part somehow yet it keeps a quick enough pace.